ADDITIONAL NOTES:a show on hiatus for longer than 12 months - without any news about its future - is assumed to be canceled

DESCRIPTION:(from Food Network's press release, March 2014) Home cooks from across the country compete, with the guidance and determination from Food Network chefs, for a $50,000 cash prize in the new culinary competition series America's Best Cook, premiering Sunday, April 13th at 9pm ET/PT. Hosted by Ted Allen, the cooks are divided into teams which are mentored by Cat Cora, Tyler Florence, Alex Guarnaschelli and Michael Symon, each representing the South, West, East and North respectively. The series kicks off with a timed culinary challenge where 16 cooks divided into groups of four compete for coveted positions on the mentor's teams. Following the challenge, each mentor tastes the dishes of four hopeful cooks and chooses the two for their team that they believe will lead them to victory. Emotions run high as each mentor puts their reputation on the line for one of their cooks to be named America's Best Cook.